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Neurons, Hormones, and the Brain

The Nervous System

Neurotransmitters

There are two kinds of cells in the nervous system: glial cells and neurons. Glial cells, which make up the support structure of the nervous
system, perform four functions:

Provide structural support to the neurons

Insulate neurons

Nourish neurons

Remove waste products

The other cells, neurons, act as the communicators of the nervous
system. Neurons receive information, integrate it, and pass it along. They
communicate with one another, with cells in the sensory organs, and with muscles and
glands.

Each neuron has the same structure:

Each neuron has a soma, or cell body, which is the central
area of the neuron. It contains the nucleus and other structures common to all
cells in the body, such as mitochondria.

The highly branched fibers that reach out from the neuron are called dendritic trees. Each branch is called a dendrite.
Dendrites receive information from other neurons or from sense organs.

The single long fiber that extends from the neuron is called an axon. Axons send information to other neurons, to muscle cells, or to
gland cells. What we call nerves are bundles of axons coming from
many neurons.

Some of these axons have a coating called the myelin sheath.
Glial cells produce myelin, which is a fatty substance that protects the nerves.
When an axon has a myelin sheath, nerve impulses travel faster down the axon.
Nerve transmission can be impaired when myelin sheaths disintegrate.

At the end of each axon lie bumps called terminal buttons. Terminal
buttons release neurotransmitters, which are chemicals
that can cross over to neighboring neurons and activate them. The junction
between an axon of one neuron and the cell body or dendrite of a neighboring
neuron is called a synapse.

Role of Myelin

People with multiple sclerosis have difficulty with muscle
control because the myelin around their axons has disintegrated.
Another disease, poliomyelitis, commonly called “polio,” also
damages myelin and can lead to paralysis.

Communication Between Neurons

In 1952, physiologists Alan Hodgkin and Andrew
Huxley made some important discoveries about how neurons transmit
information. They studied giant squid, whose neurons have giant axons. By
putting tiny electrodes inside these axons, Hodgkin and Huxley found that
nerve impulses are really electrochemical reactions.

The Resting Potential

Nerves are specially built to transmit electrochemical signals.
Fluids exist both inside and outside neurons. These fluids contain
positively and negatively charged atoms and molecules called ions. Positively charged sodium and potassium ions and
negatively charged chloride ions constantly cross into and out of
neurons, across cell membranes. An inactive neuron is in the resting state. In the resting state, the inside of a
neuron has a slightly higher concentration of negatively charged ions
than the outside does. This situation creates a slight negative charge
inside the neuron, which acts as a store of potential energy called the resting potential. The resting potential of a neuron is
about –70 millivolts.

The Action Potential

When something stimulates a neuron, gates, or channels, in the
cell membrane open up, letting in positively charged sodium ions.
For a limited time, there are more positively charged ions inside
than in the resting state. This creates an action
potential, which is a short-lived change in electric charge
inside the neuron. The action potential zooms quickly down an axon.
Channels in the membrane close, and no more sodium ions can enter.
After they open and close, the channels remain closed for a while.
During the period when the channels remain closed, the neuron can’t
send impulses. This short period of time is called the absolute refractory period, and it lasts about 1–2
milliseconds. The absolute refractory period is the period
during which a neuron lies dormant after an action potential has been
completed.

The All-or-None Law

Neural impulses conform to the all-or-none law, which
means that a neuron either fires and generates an action potential, or it
doesn’t. Neural impulses are always the same strength—weak stimuli don’t
produce weak impulses. If stimulation reaches a certain threshold, or
minimum level, the neuron fires and sends an impulse. If stimulation doesn’t
reach that threshold, the neuron simply doesn’t fire. Stronger stimuli do
not send stronger impulses, but they do send impulses at a faster
rate.

The Synapse

The gap between two cells at a synapse is called the synaptic
cleft. The signal-sending cell is called the presynaptic
neuron, and the signal-receiving cell is called the postsynaptic neuron.

Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that allow neurons to communicate
with each other. These chemicals are kept in synaptic vesicles,
which are small sacs inside the terminal buttons. When an action
potential reaches the terminal buttons, which are at the ends of axons,
neurotransmitter-filled synaptic vesicles fuse with the presynaptic cell
membrane. As a result, neurotransmitter molecules pour into the synaptic
cleft. When they reach the postsynaptic cell, neurotransmitter molecules
attach to matching receptor sites. Neurotransmitters work in much the
same way as keys. They attach only to specific receptors, just as
certain keys fit only certain locks.

When a neurotransmitter molecule links up with a receptor molecule,
there’s a voltage change, called a postsynaptic potential (PSP), at the receptor site. Receptor sites on the postsynaptic
cell can be excitatory or inhibitory:

The binding of a neurotransmitter to an excitatory receptor site
results in a positive change in voltage, called an excitatory
postsynaptic potential or excitatory PSP. This
increases the chances that an action potential will be generated in the
postsynaptic cell.

Conversely, the binding of a neurotransmitter to an inhibitory
receptor site results in an inhibitory PSP, or a negative
change in voltage. In this case, it’s less likely that an action
potential will be generated in the postsynaptic cell.

Unlike an action potential, a PSP doesn’t conform to the all-or-none
law. At any one time, a single neuron can receive a huge number of
excitatory PSPs and inhibitory PSPs because its dendrites are influenced by
axons from many other neurons. Whether or not an action potential is
generated in the neuron depends on the balance of excitation and inhibition.
If, on balance, the voltage changes enough to reach the threshold level, the
neuron will fire.

Neurotransmitter effects at a synapse do not last long.
Neurotransmitter molecules soon detach from receptors and are usually
returned to the presynaptic cell for reuse in a process called reuptake.